Kenny Hill or Takamine Cutaway - Electric???
 

Me again the "Martin or Ramirez" guy.

Here is an update on my findings of the two above mentioned:

I tried a Martin 000C - Way to UN-Classical feeling to me. Long neck. The nut was too narrow. Never plugged it in. Didn't feel right to me. Probably a great crossover guitar for those steel string players looking for a nylon.

Then I tried a Ramirez 2CWE - AWESOME guitar! I would keep it but the string spacing at the bridge is only 2 1/8. I need at least 2 1/4 very big difference to me at least. the nut area was just about 2" which was fine.

Onto my next two auditions:

Takamine TH5C (or TC132SC) or Kenny Hill Estudio E650 Cutaway Classical .

Why don't many companies list string spacing at the bridge in their specs? Seems to be pretty important to me. Does anyone know the spacing AT THE BRIDGE of the above instruments?

I do need electric so if i purchased the Kenny hill I would need to purchase a pickup system and have it installed. They do not do that at the company correct?

Any thoughts on these guitars? I need at least a 2" nut and at least 2 1/4 spacing at the bridge.

What about the Estudio VS Player Series????? Worth the extra money?
(Not sure I can afford that guitar and install a pickup)

Thanks for all the help with my previous post!

Bill

Hi Bill,
I don't have any experience with the Tak's but I've played both the Player series & Estudio Kenny Hill's. For the price new I think the Estudio cutaway is one of the best nylon strings I've tried in the $1000 price range. It is available with a 52mm or 48mm nut & either a spruce or cedar top. The sides & back are laminate which is the difference between it and the Player series. The solid back & sides in the Player gives it a slight edge on the tone. Sort of like the difference between the 4 series & 2 series in Ramirez. If you're going to put in a pickup system I'd probably say go for the Estudio & put the money you save into better pickups/preamps. I'm not sure what the string spacing is at the bridge, I'm sure you could call Kenny Hill and get that info. The Estudio I tried was a 52mm nut with the cedar top and I was very impressed. The Player was also the 52mm nut but with a spruce top, for under $2000 I thought it was a great guitar. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. The cedar top will give you more of the Ramirez warmth you liked in your other post.
Regards,
Ed

I've never played a Hill. I owned a Takamine from 1978 to 1998. Solid spruce and rosewood. I have played several others. They are nice guitars and a good value. I would steer clear of the Jasmine guitars that are associated with the the Takamine line. The Takamine Hirade are nice guitars.

Takamine hands down. They make a great guitar. I have played many of the Kenny Hill models and for me, I have not been impressed.

Hi Bill:

I have the Kenny Hill New World Player guitar. It does have at least 2 1/4" spacing at the bridge but the neck is only 1 7/8" because it is a crossover guitar, and not meant to be a true classical guitar. It does not meet your 2" requirement.

Having said that, I love the sound of my Kenny Hill. It sounds like what a classical guitar should sound like.

Enjoy your search for your perfect guitar!

Buy used..?
 

Kenny Hill guitars have great reputation for both Player and the Estudio line. If money is a bit tight, I personally would just lurk on Eb@y regularly as Performance models regularly show up for ~$1k. Sometimes you find signature models for not much more! I believe Hill will install a pickup if you order directly from them...not 100% on that though. The Takamine TC132 classicals are also highly regarded, but more for plugged/gigging use and not classical concert stage/unplugged. Both are fairly good buys with a good resale value if you decide to upgrade later (especially if you buy used).

why don't you contact Larry Darnell at ldarnel AT thehandmade.com
He works at Kenny Hill and has some agreement where he sells their B stock models. He's very responsive and would be happy to answer your questions with photos.

He was very straightforward about what made my guitar a b-stock--an eensy weensy finish mark. I was happy every part of purchasing from him.

Takamine TH5C
 

A new old stock Takamine TH5C just came UPS today. And I must say after about 15 min of playing I think I found my guitar & I haven't even plugged it in yet! Perfect neck and bridge spacing for me and very nice feel. I will say its a bit heavy but I kind of like that. Strings are way to light , plan on putting on a set of extra hard tensions and seeing how it feels. Very happy at the moment!

Finally!

Thanks for all the advice!!!!

Bill

Great choice! Yes, she is a heavy girl but a great sounding guitar. Congrats!

I agree 100%

Rick

Gid choice - but it is a little quiet and bland unplugged! I also have hard tension on mine which does help quite a bit! G - string is a little dull but I'm gona try a wound 3rd string to see if that livens it up a little. Plugged in with a little reverb it's eye wateringly sweet! Enjoy

The Hirade TH5c is not the same as the Takamine TC132SC

both are made in the Takamine shop , but in different areas,,

the Hirades are more lively unplugged,,,

I always use wound 3rds anyway

Rick

ESTUDIO CUTAWAY FINGERSTYLE
 

I've just returned to this forum, and will begin to pick up pieces of threads from long ago.

Imported New World Estudio models include 650mm [~25 5/8"] string length Cutaway w. 52mm nut and Fingerstyle w. 48mm nut; 2 3/8" string spacing at the saddle. Includes gigbag.

New World Player models include 650mm string length Cutaway w 52mm nut and 640mm string length Fingerstyle w. 48mm nut radiused fingerboard; 2 3/8" string spacing at the saddle. Includes arched hardshell case.

Guitars are sold stock without pickup. We now install Barbera soloist pickup. These guitars are stock and other than the pickup.

Domestic Hill models are more customize-able as you can see from these
photos of custom guitars - #1. Stage BZ rosewood, 3/4 body [18" length, 13" lower bout, 3.25" depth] 1 7/8" nut radiused fingerboard, spruce/nomex/cedar double top. lattice braced, sound port, Barbera Soloist pickup, compensated nut, 12 hole bridge.


http://www.hillguitar.com/showroom/p...ssoverfull.jpg

#2 Full size Macassar Ebony Crossover w. stand up ergonomic body; otherwise specs are the same as above.
http://www.hillguitar.com/showroom/p...s_front_sm.jpg

We are a classical builder. In addressing the needs and desires of certain classical and fingerstyle players, we have tried to find the most representative non coloring pickup, which is the Barbera. http://www.barberatransducers.com/guitar_pickups.html Consistent with our desire to have the instrument sound amplified like it does acoustically, we've been happy with this.

From that, from time to time we have been asked to make a nylon string Crossover model and a thinner smaller bodied Stage model reducing feedback. The Barbera transducer itself being the saddle w/o microphone is very feedback resistant to start with. And, we've found the pickup material to resemble bone making the saddle replacement transparent when the instrument is played acoustically.

2018 will see both of these models lining up as standard offerings in our catalog - Indian rosewood is the standard back and side wood with spruce or cedar lattice braced double tops as a choice. Many other woods are available for back and sides. Built to order.

LD

The going average price for a used KH Performance on Reverb and Ebay is around 4-4.5K these days. I think you can find a good condition Player series for around 1K, but probably not a Performance.

I'm a huge Kenny Hill guitar fan and I love the Player series.

My humble thoughts...

never mind